Moderation Drinking: MODERATION FEBRUARY IS HERE

Moderation February™ is a new concept in the last year that I created kind of riding the wave of Dry January’s popularity over the last decade. The premise is simple:

Moderation February™ is a commitment to yourself using a set of tools that allows you to EASE BACK INTO DRINKING after a month without alcohol.

Whereas Dry January is a fixed period of time that requires drastic behavioral changes for most participants, Moderation February™ offers tangible tools and tactics you can literally carry with you--not just in February - but any day, any week, or any month throughout the year to help lower your alcohol consumption.

Host: Andy Whiteside

Co-host: Sam Meader

Transcript

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Andy Whiteside: Hello, everyone, and welcome to episode 9 of moderation drinking. I'm your host today. Andy Whiteside got Sam Meter with me. Sam is our our every time panelist. And Sam's the guy that leads up the moderation drinking website. Sam, what is the actual? Is it? Moderation drinking.

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Sam: moderationdrinking.com. Yes.

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Andy Whiteside: Moderation and part of the goal there is to get the word out and help people understand that it's okay to have a drink. It's okay to enjoy yourself. But it's not okay to get drunk. And Sam has the challenge coin. Sam, you want to update us on how the challenge coin is going.

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Sam: It's great, as you know you've heard me talk about. It's been a while, but I created and patented this challenge. Coin, of course. Challenge. Coins have been around for centuries, used by Masonic lodges, police force military to denote achievement. And the way that this challenge coin works is you can't acquire it until you agree to a code of conduct which says, you'll get the coin.

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Sam: put it down in the bar or your table, have one drink, and then, once that's done, you flip it over and you have a second drink called last call. Once last call is done, you stop drinking alcohol for the rest of the day. And so why it's so effective is people can't acquire the coin until they agree to the code of conduct which basically says what I just mentioned. So it's kind of a built in guarantee. You agree to do this, and it's helped a lot of people, and certainly has changed my relationship with alcohol

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Sam: to really limit yourself to 2 drinks. And I found and I don't know if studies prove this. But I've talked to a lot of guys

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Sam: and ladies after 2 drinks. I believe that is the line where, hey? Your decision making kind of goes downhill your your behavior maybe goes downhill. So 2 drinks is what I'm using as a limit to really help stay on track.

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Andy Whiteside: Yeah.

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Andy Whiteside: you know, I have a have a thought on that 2 things. One, you know, as we started to kick off this podcast today, I realized we haven't done it lately until you have some changes in where you live and some things going on. You're being close to your grandkids. That's awesome. But I realized we haven't done this in a while. And you know, I challenged myself in the beginning of all this to make sure we kept doing this to get the message out. I think it's extremely valuable message. I literally went on a work trip last week, hang out with a bunch of clients, and

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Andy Whiteside: and probably, you know, probably consumed one or 2 more than I should have. You know. All good. You did all the right things for sure, but it's it's a challenge. And especially now this is the beginning of

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Andy Whiteside: the spring conference season getting ready to kick off.

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Andy Whiteside: and as you and I have talked about. Well, not just me, the whole entire. Everything, like every every industry. If they're gonna have spring conference. It starts in late February, early March, and that's when a lot of you know out of control stuff happens.

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Andy Whiteside: so I want to. I want to bring up the fact that you know, we had our issue here, where, you know, we lost an employee to a drunk driving situation, and I challenged myself all the time to to keep that top of mind. And this podcast is, you know, one of my commitments to doing that.

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Sam: No, and I appreciate that. I know in the last 6 months it's been a challenge to schedule, and I appreciate your effort to keep nudging this forward, and here we are. We're finally back on track. So thank you.

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Andy Whiteside: So, Sam, we are doing something interesting today because we're going to cover a very relevant topic regarding what happens this time of year in the drinking world, with January and February coming off a dry January, and it's literally a repeat

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Andy Whiteside: of last year's conversation. But a year later, and a look back and a talk through around, how relevant it is and has become. And you know what one of the things I think I find it very interesting and some of the podcasts listen to the business podcasts. Listen to. They're literally talking about the impact this is having on

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Andy Whiteside: on the business community and how these alcohol vendors are losing money now, after all these years, and how people are using, you know, these motions like you have here as well as the fact, they're just trying to get healthier and how the impact is having on business.

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Sam: For sure. And I you know I think you talk about the the spring conference and

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Sam: timely hear the message. In February. We have dry January every year has become a cultural phenomenon, and certainly the last decade. It's gained a lot of popularity. But it's it's not all. It's cracked up to be. And so last year I created a concept of moderation, February as a way for people to come off of dry January.

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Sam: but not jump into binge drinking and binge drinking again. And you talk to folks, and I've done dry January in years past. Sometimes it works, sometimes it didn't, but a lot of the people I talk to who go through dry January speak in terms of you know. How's it going? Oh, they're talking in terms of survival. Oh, I just got to power through this. I can't wait until February first, st where I can have a beer again, or whatever, and it's not really a sound or

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Sam: foundational behavioral change. And so, like any issues related to psychology and behavior, you can do a lot of things for the short term, a day, a week, a month. But if it doesn't become part of your makeup and your permanent behavior, it's not really sustainable. And that's what we see. A lot of people when they come off of dry January, hit it harder and end up drinking more in the month of February, because they have to make up for lost time. And that's really, you know, the

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Sam: 1st round, last call challenge coin as the cornerstone to moderation. Drinking really is a tool that you could use any month, any day of the year in a bar at home. And it's not just relegated to a particular month or particular period of time. And that's really the power in it. And it just so happened that last year, when

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Sam: when I started moderation February it was, I had some friends who 1 1 person ended up going into rehab after, you know, hitting it hard in February. And so, yeah, I think the message is is still more than relevant as a way to, you know, maintain the behavior of moderation long beyond the month of January.

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Andy Whiteside: You know I'm I'm a big fan of business and follow the money. I would love to know

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Andy Whiteside: that if the if the alcohol vendors literally tee up February as a big month one. Because you have this little thing called the Super Bowl. Yeah. And 2, because they know people are coming off trying to live through a dry ish or dry January, and they know that people are just lined up outside waiting to buy.

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Sam: Yeah, that'd be an interesting data point to find. Look at the sales of alcohol or from their own internal marketing, if they really ratchet it up to try to get you that if that's part of their decision criteria, I think you hit on to something there. That's probably what they do.

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Andy Whiteside: I would love to see some of these publicly traded companies that have to, you know, publish this to their shareholders. I would I would love to see if that's what they do.

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Andy Whiteside: It's got to be.

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Sam: Yeah.

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Andy Whiteside: They would be as a business, they would be dumb not to.

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Sam: Yeah, I'm sure I'm sure it's going on for sure. Yeah, but it it's interesting.

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Andy Whiteside: I bet we're not too far away from being able to walk around a liquor store or just a grocery store in the alcohol section and literally see things that are either directly or indirectly related to. It's February, and it's time to get drunk again.

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Sam: Yeah, like a sign, literally that says that. No, it's funny. My my son graduated from college last

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Sam: last summer, and he's now working in Phoenix, and he he unprompted. He told me this story. How he went to his company was part of the the waste management open. They have the big golf tournament down there every year in Scottsdale, and and they had a corporate tent and you know, one of the guys he had become friends with ended up getting fired for getting too drunk at. You know they were hosting one of their corporate tents, and it's

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Sam: It's amazing how like you hear about those stories. And and then other people, you know are are talking about it. It's really everywhere. And I I think you know, corporate America we've talked about. This is is trying to get a handle on it to dial back drinking, at events. But it's still not where it needs to be.

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Andy Whiteside: You know you mentioned that one, and that one is notorious. I mean notorious that time of year people coming in from all over the country that may not be warm and nice like it is in Phoenix or Scottsdale, or that general area and people just it has a nickname. I'm looking it up right now. I think it's like the wasted management.

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Sam: Yeah, yeah.

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Andy Whiteside: People come ready to get blitzed is what I understand.

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Sam: Yeah. And so that's that's not all. Golf tournaments are like that. But that was a, you know, a corporate event that that had a casualty like you've experienced as well.

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Andy Whiteside: Sam, what would be the the major thing that you would highlight a year later, after coming up with the commerce concept of moderation. February. What's what's the one? If there is just one thing that you would say validates this concept even more.

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Sam: Well, I would say, you know, from the many people who have purchased the coin, you can buy it through my website, moderationdrinking.com. It's only 22 bucks. But the amount of comments I get from people who say this has really helped me. It's a tangible thing, and most people aren't aware of what a challenge coin is. So when they get it, it's a big, hefty hunk of metal.

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Sam: and they carry it around with them, and it's a tangible thing that is heavy in their pocket. It's heavy on the bar when you put it down, and so it's kind of hard to ignore if you just use it. And so I've had a lot of people, just thank me to say.

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Sam: beyond the month of February I've been able to moderate my drinking with this tool, and I think whatever tool or tactic you use, it's a reminder coming off of dry January to just not get back and dump into the deep end of the pool and get wasted.

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Andy Whiteside: Right.

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Andy Whiteside: You know you and I have talked about the idea. This would be a good gift to send someone as a little subtle nudge. It would also be something good for corporations to to hand out at their conferences or their sales, kickoffs, or whatever it is, as a way to encourage. You know, the appropriate behavior.

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Sam: Yeah, and I I've had. I had on my website. A woman bought the coin

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Sam: she got it for herself. But she ended up buying one for her husband, who she had had issues with and over drinking and such. And you know, she tactfully said, I'm doing this for me. And he ended up picking up the coin. And it's really helped their relationship as well. It's just I think it comes down to. If you. If you

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Sam: think you have a problem and you're leading that direction, it's good to 1st and foremost talk about it, or at least understand that you might want to drink less. And there's all kinds of places and resources. And they're on my website as well. If you think you need help beyond moderation, like Aa or rehab. That's certainly a place where people end up. But this is a good middle ground, and for people who think they just want to dial it back. Whatever tool you use. It's a good thing to do.

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Andy Whiteside: Yeah, let me quote here from this website. It's Ktar news, and it says, in 2010, it the the waste management, Phoenix open. That became the official name of it, and because of what it says, because of the attendee partying, gaining the nickname, The wasted Phoenix open. I've got a couple individuals on my team that are from Phoenix. That that's what they refer to it as the waste.

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Sam: Yeah. Well, it's a it's a quite a I've been there to visit my son. It's a it's a large college town as well. Arizona State University is right in right outside of there in Tempe, and it's just.

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Andy Whiteside: Party school, U.S.A. But that's.

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Sam: Yeah. And they they really cater to it, too, with a lot of the West Coast baseball teams doing their spring training there. So.

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Andy Whiteside: Oh, it's yeah.

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Sam: Between the golf and the baseball and the warm weather. It's it's a party town, for sure.

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Andy Whiteside: Now to Arizona State's defense. They've done a lot to make the school more of an academic place, too, so don't take those words.

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Sam: Well, and and this past year a great hell of a football team, too.

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Andy Whiteside: Football team? Yeah, would that be.

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Sam: Got into the playoffs.

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Andy Whiteside: That may or not, that may or may not help the drinking. I don't. I'm not.

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Sam: It's a it's a valid point.

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Andy Whiteside: Impacts that in a positive or negative way there's probably a little give and take.

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Andy Whiteside: You know, Sam, I'm kind of talking out loud here, and I don't know where you're at, so don't don't answer this question. I'll share anymore you want. But you and I talked at 1 point about making the challenge coin an app for mobile devices.

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Sam: Yeah, I mean, that's it's certainly I haven't done anything with that. But I think as a way to just tap and have it come up on your screen, you know a little bit easier to download than to order the coin and have it come to you. It's certainly something worth exploring.

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Andy Whiteside: And and it, and it makes a noise the 1st time, and it makes another noise the second time, and sends a text out or message out to all your friends that are part of the same app, saying I just had my second one, and I'm done.

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Sam: Yeah, automatic link to Uber as well. You know, there's all kinds of things that we could do.

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Andy Whiteside: Yeah, yeah, let's talk through that. Sam, I appreciate you joining me today. Anything else to talk about? It relates to moderation. February.

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Sam: No, I think we've covered. It's good to be back with you, and you know we're sitting here in February. We'll do it again in March, and we'll continue the message of moderation.

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Andy Whiteside: Let's let's create an app to go along with the physical coin.

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Sam: All right. I'll get. I'll get after it.

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Andy Whiteside: And let's go on. Shark, tank.

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Sam: Alright, man!

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Sam: Alright! Well, we'll dive in together.

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Andy Whiteside: Absolutely.

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Sam: Have a great month. Everybody.

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Andy Whiteside: Thank you.